The company has partnered with the wearable startup OMsignal to develop smart shirts that will be used at the United States Open this week. In an interview with the New York Times, Ralph Lauren, son of the iconic designer, confirmed the company's entry into the wearable market.

Lauren said that their shirts can track an athlete's heart rate, breathing, and stress levels.

“It’s fascinating to see this guy at the peak of his youth and his health, to watch the stress that he’s under when Roger Federer is handing him a ball,” he told the Times. “You can actually see his heart rate spike.”

Ralph Lauren is sticking to what it knows best: clothing.

“Everyone is exploring wearable tech watches and headbands and looking at cool sneakers. We skipped to what we thought was new, which is apparel. We live in our clothes,” Lauren added.

The next step is to improve the aesthetic of its shirts. Ralph Lauren is now planning to integrate the technology into its everyday wear. For the record, the company began experimenting with carbon-fiber jeans and MP3 player-embedded ski jackets. But it flopped because not everyone knew how to use MP3 players.

The Author

Gene Ryan BrionesGene Ryan Briones (Google+) is a technology journalist with a wide experience in writing about the latest trends in the technology industry, ranging from mobile technology, gadgets and robots, as well as computer hardware and software.